Best of New Illumination Writers
A compilation of articles featuring writers new to Illumination
Back in May I started using Dr Mehmet Yildiz‘s daily updates on writer accomplishments to check out the new writers that were being added to the publication. Each day Dr Mehmet Yildiz lists the Medium handles of any new writer added to the publication.
I used that list as a way to find interesting reads from writers that were likely new to me.
After doing this for a few weeks, it occurred to me that there could be some added benefit by sharing the articles I found with others. On my end, it would keep me committed to reading pieces by new writers each day; plus, I thought it would be a good way to welcome writers new to the platform by acknowledging their work.
So, on June second I set out to do just that. I figured I would use the prior day’s new writer list and highlight some articles that jumped out at me.
My bias for selecting articles oriented around writers that had less than 200 followers, and I wanted to stay away for exceptionally polarizing topics and those topics that are found in abundance all over Medium.
That meant writing generally was off the table as a topic, as was anything about Medium. I also tend to avoid Coronavirus and racial and political related articles. Those are great topics, and I have interest and opinion about them, but I wanted the features to be more about the writers themselves and their skills, and less about how cogently they argued current event topics.
So, I tend for the eclectic, and anything that is new or informative to me. Plus, as many know, anything about animals tends to catch my eye, as well as a quirky story with an upbeat narrative.
That is largely what I have published over the last two weeks. I broke my own rules a bit on the 15th, and I also entertained some requests that fell outside things I might have chosen on my own. But mostly I wrote about things that tickled my fancy.
Let me walk you through my journey so far:
June 2 — I started out right away realizing that I was going to want a bigger gap between when Dr. Yildiz posted the new writer names and when I published my story. Simply from a workflow perspective it made some sense that I be able to put together the articles at least a day before I published them.
To that end, I went back a few days in May to grab my new writer lists for the first few days of the feature. This first piece featured a comparison of Ready Player One to Twilight that I thought was very unique, and a great way to kick off the series:
June 3 — This one has a steamy scene in a chicken restaurant among other great stories:
June 4 — I didn’t set out to get any of these articles curated. But this one was in Creativity and Writing.
June 5 — Okay, the title doesn’t give it away, but this one has dog pictures!
June 6 — I changed the title on this one. I started with “My Fears of Poetry About Cats May Drive Me to Drink”. I knew it was rough, and yet I stared at it over and over and couldn’t get my brain to jump to the obvious better form. Finally, 8 days later, it hit me:
June 7 — It feels like we missed the murder hornets. Did we miss the murder hornets?
June 8 — Ever turn down a job offer? Or wear heels? This one is for you!
June 9 — Read a parent’s letter to her future daughter in this one and just try to not cry.
June 10 — Another curation. This time only in writing though. I am pretty sure it is because of the picture!
June 11 — The first zombie piece in the features. I am surprised it took 11 days.
June 12 — If you read the Chewbacca piece in here and do not crack at least a tiny smile, then your heart is made of ice.
June 13 — You don’t need me to talk up topless librarians, do you? That sells itself.
June 14 — I am not a baseball person, but even I could appreciate the analogies in these stories.
June 15 — Here is where I cast aside my “no articles about writing” ban and included one that was so good that you have to read it.
June 16 — If you haven’t taught your toddler to code, they will just be one year older when you do.
And there you go. That is the rundown for the first half of the month. I think going forward I will compile on a weekly basis for the last two weeks.
Plus, there were some bonus features spread out in there because I found so many great articles. I will put together a bonus feature compilation in the next few days as well. Hopefully curating all these together in one place will make for easier reading for anyone that missed a day or two!
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Timothy Key spent over 26 years in the fire service as a firefighter/paramedic and various fire chief management roles. He firmly believes that bad managers destroy more than companies, and good managers create a passion that is contagious. Compassion, grace and gratitude drive the world; or at least they should. Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter, and join the mail list.
